When I was engaged by NBT Brunei to share my thoughts on Customer Service earlier this year, Mr. Ninan Chacko gave me a simple, but tall order: to make NBT’s Service as the Talk of the Town!

It is one thing to provide good customer service, and it is quite another to be so great that the whole town talks about you. Mr. Chacko is a man of high expectation. The quality of service in NBT, as you would agree, is reflected in the way their staff carry themselves, with Pride and Dignity, and the immaculate process the company put in place behind the scene to ensure the seamless efficiency of frontline operations.

I remember during our exchange, we spoke at length about the importance of attention towards details in making all the difference between a good and great customer experience.

Mr. Chacko told me one of the best Customer Service story that I have ever heard; on his occasion with the Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Nagoya, flying on Business Class nonetheless. He also graciously shared with me the appreciation letter that he wrote to Singapore Airline’s CEO so that I can pass on the lessons.

Like me, I hope you would pick up the Secrets in serving the elite from his story.

At Triple Stars today, we bumped into Mohammed, the same Sales Attendant who sold us the baby court before Siena was born 7 months ago (time flies!). Mohammed and I clicked instantly. He laughed when I recited Russel Peters’ famous “Take It & Go” line (see 3Mins 05Sec onwards), with the signature hand gesture in my attempt to get some discounts (it worked!). Aside from getting my jokes, Mohammed gave me a sense that he actually gets it about Customer Service. He was professional, confident, and he knew his products.

As he was helping me to load the stuff into the car, I casually asked if he’d be interested to join us. Mohammed courteously declined, without the slightest interest in what company I work for, or how much I was going to offer him (let’s just assume that Mohammed doesn’t mind my face for this illustration purpose). Offended, I pushed further for an explanation. He came back with a simple but classic response, those you only read in fiction novels or see in the movies: that “It’s not about the money.”

Mohammed loves his boss, he’s been treated extremely well for the last 16 years he’s been here. His job has helped him raise two boys, 4 and 9 in India, who frequently visit him in Brunei. Above all, he loves what he does, and so it was reflected in his service attitude.

You may argue that Mohammed is a foreigner. But to me, anyone who’s been living here for more than 16 years is a Bruneian, regardless of what it says on the passport.

For a brief 60 seconds, I was humbled by my interaction with Mohammed. Not only did he show me how proper Customer Service is carried out, but he also taught me a very important lesson: There are things that money can’t buy. A precious little word that has became a rarity since my grand father’s generation (Hint it starts with L!).

End Note:

The next time when you go to Triple Star, go check him out by yourself. Tell Mohammed I sent you. And he’d probably answer: Who is Shaun?

Dato Timothy Ong pointed out, at the recent Asia Inc Forum, an important note about Customer Service: that the real test to a Great Customer Service culture is how the company handles the customer when a problem arises.

The limited time allocated for the presentation prohibited me from addressing his remark on stage. (Truth was, it was such a deep and thoughtful statement that it took me a few days to process. Hence, this blog.)

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Dear Dato Timothy Ong,

My short response to you on this issue will be: If a company has a steadfast commitment to Customer Service excellence, it is unlikely it would face too many ‘crisis situations’ of customer complaints.

That said, it seems that the only things constant today are the unpredictable. Hence, my long response below:

Please scroll to the very bottom to observe disclaimers before proceed…

Observation #1

We are a spoiled society…

Many Bruneians are raised with one or more maids in their households. We are ‘trained’ to be very good managers since young. Starting at 4 years old, we have no problem in giving orders and direction to our helpers. But when it comes to service, this may be why we are lacking so much as a society. The service attitude begins at home, sadly we’ve taken it out of the equation for our children, in exchange for more money, more work and more convenience.

Customer service often gets misinterpreted by the performances of the sales reps alone. The problem with this is of course, when the staff happens to have a bad day, much will be on the line. Leaving sales reps to bear such a burden is not only unfair, it is risky, inconsistent and not strategic.

Great organisations understand that there is more to customer service than what meets the eye. It starts with being thoughtful in anticipating customer’s needs, then there’s meticulous scenario planning on every possible problem encounters; and it also factors in every design component of the shopping experience that reflects the company’s posture towards service.

What separates a good from a great operator is all the preparations that happen behind the scene, leaving nothing to chance for a bad experience. We hope you would never look at customer service the same again after reading this.

1. Greetings

Uh, did we say non-verbal cue? By this we are referring to the approaches employed towards customer greetings, as opposed to the scripts. In the mystery customer survey form for Levi’s, one of the first judging criteria is: whether or not customers are greeted within the first 30 seconds. The reason is obvious, everybody shall ever enter a Levi’s store without being acknowledged; be it a nod, a smile or a ‘how are you’, and greeted fast!

Of course, greeting extends more than just the speed of your delivery. There’s the element of the attitude in your tone, your observation of a customer’s unique tie, glasses, accent and mood, and how you use these cues to make split second decisions to connect with your customers.

In Tokyo and Seoul, it is not uncommon to see attendants bowing in the middle of the road to cars exiting the car park, welcoming and thanking customers for shopping at their department stores. In Brunei, the last time I paid for my groceries, the only ‘greetings’ I received was the cash register personnel starring at me mumbling: ‘member-card?’ So much for non-verbal gestures!

2. Displays

Your attention to visual merchandising tells a lot about your attitude towards customer service. If I need to walk through 8 aisles to find my bag of rice (so you can sell me some impulse items), I would rather forfeit your five-star supermarket for the convenience store around the corner that places the 10kg rice into my car boot, while I pay for it without having to leave my car.

If you are serious about your visual display, here are some questions you should consider: How organized are your shelves and your store layout? Does the sequence flow logically? Do you have a balanced range? How about your stock level? Can I always find what I’m looking for? Are the signs prominent enough to help me locate my dog food within seconds? Do you have a step ladder readily available, just incase I’m 4 feet tall and need to reach for the Dove shampoo on the top shelf?

Just as you thought you’ve done a good job, having taken care of your shop’s ambience with the perfect decoration, lighting, room temperature and music selection, consider this…

Today, companies are engaging perfume specialist to tap into the customer’s olfactory senses (by infusing the right mix of scent into the air condition) to arouse the desired mood for maximum relaxation, and thus, maximum sales.

4. Thoughtfulness

In developing countries: parents with babies, senior citizens, and the disabled will have no difficulty in identifying shopping centers with special facilities because they are not that common.

I had no idea about the importance of a baby changing room until we went out shopping one day, and my 6 month old dirtied her nappy. Since that incident, my wife and I would swear our full allegiance to any shopping centre that provides baby facilities. When the basics are not met, anything above and beyond on customer service is merely a gimmick.

4.2 Thoughtfulness (Part 2)

Great customer service will enchant people when they least expect. However, when competitors start to do the same, everything resets to zero.

In Hong Kong, when you enter into Chow Tai Fook, everyone will greet you with the most sincere gesture. Not only that, they also offer you a seat and pour you tea or a mineral. It was unique, until the rest of the jewellery stores followed suit. Now, when I enter into any jewellery store in Hong Kong, I expect to be served water or tea. Any less, is bad service.

5. Be Trivial

Yuka, the previous Assistant Manager at Louis Vuitton, Perth used to be obsessed with little details at work. To what extent? She would go the extra mile to ensure that there were always pens and paper in the drawer at all times and that the notes are always written in brown ink. The rationale was simple; everything should be readily available at the customers’ disposal and every piece of communication, no matter how trivial, will reflect the brand’s reputation.

Incidentally, at Louis Vuitton, staff are always well groomed, their uniforms – regularly dry cleaned and pressed (at the company’s expense), and they even accept Yen, Euro, Yuan and USD. Apparently, no detail is ever too small for one of the world’s most profitable retail operators.

They say non-verbal language accounts for over 80% of total communications. Imagine if this is also true for customer service.

The majority of our readers would understand what customer service is about. The moment we first learned how to spend money is the moment we begin to craft an expectation of the level of customer service we would like to receive.

Customer Service can be both a science and an art. Science, because we can put in a process to ensure that staff execute every step accordingly to please the customers. Art, because we are dealing with human interactions, even though every step in the rulebook is being ticked off, it may not guarantee customer satisfaction, if the heart is missing. Here are three ideas to ensure that your staff deliver customer service that is a notch above everyone else:

1. Create a Happy Environment!

Happy staff equal happy customers! It is amazing how most business operators often overlook this common sense principle. Work environment plays a crucial role in the employee’s performance. Yes, staff may pretend to serve well under the strict supervision of business owners. What really matters is how they treat your customers in your absence! Starbucks spent over USD 300 million on health care in the United States in 2009, an amount more than what they spend on coffee beans. Beyond that, the company also provides share options to all their employees. In an environment where every employee is well taken care of and is being treated as a partner, it is no wonder that
their staff take ownership in every single instance to provide the best service!

2. Hire Passionate People

It is easy to hire people who are passionate about your products when you are a recognized brand like Louis Vuitton, Nike and Apple. Most people who work for those companies are there mostly because they love the brand. When they have such intense pleasure for what they sell, the enthusiasm easily rubs off to the customers. The problem is, not all
SMEs carry renowned labels.

How then do you hire people who are passionate about your products? Sometimes passion transcends across just labels. Hire customers who love your Hawaiian Pizza to be your waiter, and watch the sale of your Hawaiian Pizzas escalate. Hire your lady friend who has 25 pairs of shoes in the closet and watch the sale of your shoes increase. Hire a bookworm to look after your bookstore… You get the drift!

3. Make Meaning

Show your staff how his or her contribution can make a difference in the big picture. When the university canteen dishwasher was being shown that he was part of the big eco-system in ensuring a bright future for the future doctors, ministers, engineer and business people, his attitude towards every plate he washed was never the same again. The continuous existence of any business is because they provide a unique service that the community values.

How then do you connect the dot for your staff? Customer service is a multidimensional discipline. Highlighted above are the fundamental soft skills required to lift your standard. Staffs’ level of competency and knowledge of your company and the product are just as important.

What about ensuring a thoughtful car-park facility, the cleanliness of your toilet? What about the mindset of the boss towards servicing the customers? The list can go on indefinitely. Excelling in customer service is a never ending quest that requires first, the understanding of what a privilege it is to make a difference to your fellow countrymen, through the work you do.